05515 - History of International Relations

Learning outcomes

The aim of the course is to provide the students with a general and as far as possible exhaustive framework of the main developments in international politics in the contemporary age. Special attention will be paid to the great systemic shifts. We will start from the origins of the process of formation of an international political system based on the Nation State, and then move on to the late-nineteen and early to mid-20th century imperial and hegemonic trends, to then analyse the clash between the two “ideological empires” as far as the decline of bipolarism and the triumph of multipolar globalisation. In dealing with this evolution we will not just deal with a traditional approach, focused solely on diplomatic history, but will try as far as possible, to integrate the planes of domestic politics and those of international politics, with those of the economic and international evolution of the international system. The general course will end with a short monographic focus in the Italian and French foreign policies in the post-1945 period, with particular attention to the role of the two countries in the process of European integration and in the more comprehensive phase of reconsideration and rethinking of the rationales of national sovereignty. 

Course contents

The aim of the course is to provide the students with a general and as far as possible exhaustive framework of the main developments in international politics in the contemporary age. Special attention will be paid to the great systemic shifts. We will start from the origins of the process of formation of an international political system based on the Nation State, and then move on to the late-nineteen and early to mid-20th century imperial and hegemonic trends, to then analyse the clash between the two “ideological empires” as far as the decline of bipolarism and the triumph of multipolar globalisation. In dealing with this evolution we will not just deal with a traditional approach, focused solely on diplomatic history, but will try as far as possible, to integrate the planes of domestic politics and those of international politics, with those of the economic and international evolution of the international system. The general course will end with a short monographic focus in the Italian and French foreign policies in the post-1945 period, with particular attention to the role of the two countries in the process of European integration and in the more comprehensive phase of reconsideration and rethinking of the rationales of national sovereignty. 

The subdivision and the contents are, of course, indicative and can undergo small changes depending on the needs of the lecturer and the class itself. Each week will consist of six hours of lectures.

First module

1st Week

The sovereign State in the modern times and the birth of the great powers (the Westphalia model)

The revolutionary era and the impact of the Napoleonic empire

The Congress of Vienna and the search for the “European concerto”

2nd Week

The centrality of the nations

Europe between Bismarckian status quo and pax britannica

The power policy

3rd Week

The shock of the imperialisms: from the turn of century crisis to the First World War

Versailles and the (failed) quest for a New World Order

The Hitlerian revisionist challenge

4th Week

War and ideology: the Second World War

The two empires and the origins of bipolarism: containment and Cold War in Europe

5th  Week

The turning point of Korea and that of Suez

Cold War and Hot Peace? The long 1970s of the “first détente”

Second module

6th Week

Decolonialisation and Cold War

The turning point of 1973 and the end of the long 1960s

7th Week

Between detente and the “second” Cold War: the long 1970s

Decline and death of bipolarism

German Reunification and the collapse of the USSR

8th Week

New political poles: Asia and European integration

The war in Europe and the first Gulf war

A unipolar or multipolar world?

9th Week

French foreign policy from de Gaulle to Chirac: between grandeur and realism

10th Week

Italy and its foreign policy: from the dream of the Fascist power to ideological Europeanism

 

 

Readings/Bibliography

Readings/Bibliography (for students attending classes)

Obligatory book:

G. Formigoni, Storia della politica internazionale nell'età contemporanea, Il Mulino, 2006

One book to choose among:

O. Barié, Dalla guerra fredda alla grande crisi, Il Mulino, 2013 + E. Di Nolfo, Prima lezione di storia delle relazioni internazionali, Laterza, 2006

C. A. Bayly, La nascita del mondo moderno 1780-1914, Einaudi, 2007

M. Del Pero, Libertà e impero. Gli Stati Uniti e il mondo 1776-2006, Laterza, 2008

E. Di Nolfo, Dagli imperi militari agli imperi tecnologici: la politica internazionale nel XX secolo, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2006

D. Ellwood, Una sfida per la modernità, Carocci, 2012+ + E. Di Nolfo, Prima lezione di storia delle relazioni internazionali, Laterza, 2006

W. Keylor, Un mondo di nazioni. L'ordine internazionale dopo il 1945, Guerini Scientifica, 2007

M. Mazower, Le ombre dell'Europa, Garzanti, 2000

A.S. Milward-S.B. Saul, The development of the economies of continental Europe, 1850-1914, Routledge, 2011

G. H. Soutou, La guerre de cinquante ans 1943-1990, Fayard, 2001

F. Romero, Storia della guerra fredda: l'ultimo conflitto per l'Europa, Einaudi, 2009 + E. Di Nolfo, Prima lezione di storia delle relazioni internazionali, Laterza, 2006    

A. Varsori, La cenerentola d'Europa. L'Italia e l'integrazione europea dal 1947 ad oggi, Rubbettino, 2012

 

Readings/Bibliography (for non-attending students)

Obligatory books:

G. Formigoni, Storia della politica internazionale nell'età contemporanea, Il Mulino, 2006

F. Romero, Storia della guerra fredda: l'ultimo conflitto per l'Europa, Einaudi, 2009

Two books to choose among:

O. Barié, Dalla guerra fredda alla grande crisi, Il Mulino, 2013 + E. Di Nolfo, Prima lezione di storia delle relazioni internazionali, Laterza, 2006

C. A. Bayly, La nascita del mondo moderno 1780-1914, Einaudi, 2007

M. Del Pero, Libertà e impero. Gli Stati Uniti e il mondo 1776-2006, Laterza, 2008

E. Di Nolfo, Dagli imperi militari agli imperi tecnologici: la politica internazionale nel XX secolo, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2006

D. Ellwood, Una sfida per la modernità, Carocci, 2012+ + E. Di Nolfo, Prima lezione di storia delle relazioni internazionali, Laterza, 2006

W. Keylor, Un mondo di nazioni. L'ordine internazionale dopo il 1945, Guerini Scientifica, 2007

M. Mazower, Le ombre dell'Europa, Garzanti, 2000

A.S. Milward-S.B. Saul, The development of the economies of continental Europe, 1850-1914, Routledge, 2011

G. H. Soutou, La guerre de cinquante ans 1943-1990, Fayard, 2001

A. Varsori, La cenerentola d'Europa. L'Italia e l'integrazione europea dal 1947 ad oggi, Rubbettino, 2012

Teaching methods

The course will consist of 30 lectures each lasting about 2 hours. Readings and slides (power point) will be presented at the lessons as a teaching aid to the lectures.

Assessment methods

The students attending classes will take two written tests (one per module) each lasting two hours, one part made up of short questions (based on the core text) and some open questions (three or four) to be developed in a deeper and broader manner. At the end of the lesson and the two written tests, the students must then pass an oral test that will again focus on the topics dealt with in class (if deemed necessary by the lecturer) and on the monograph chosen by the student. The student can take the oral test only after having passed the two written tests. In the event  of a fail in one of the two tests, the oral will focus specifically on the part to be made up, after which the monograph will be tested. In the event of a double fail in the two written tests the student can take the exam only in the module for the non-attending student.

The non-attending student will have to prepare four books as specified above. The learning test will consist in a written exam on the volumes by G. Formigoni and F. Romero, structured with short questions to be answered in 45 minutes. Once the written test has been marked, if a pass has been reached, the student will talk an oral test again on the two volumes and on the two monographs to be chosen from among the ones listed.

Teaching tools

Computer-based teaching tools (power point) will be used along with audiovisuals to accompany the teaching.

Office hours

See the website of Michele Marchi